👋 Good Morning!

The NBA Summer League is generally not very good basketball. But it’s kind of like the bridge between the college game and the pros. And as somebody who loves both, I’ve come to really enjoy seeing the former local stars.

Last night’s championship game between Charlotte and Sacramento featured three players who I covered in an epic game in Moby Arena in December of 2023. I’m a CSU guy but I’ve always loved KJ Simpson’s game. Congrats to the former Buff on a great showing this summer and for helping lead the Hornets to a Summer League championship.

Oh… and if you missed it, Nique Clifford balled out for the Kings this month. It’s absurd that he fell out of the top 20.

— Justin Michael

I’d like you to put the word out that we’re back up. The Denver Broncos aren’t some run-of-the-mill team hoping to scrape out a .500 season anymore. They were down for close to a decade but the Broncos are a real threat once again and have a chance to make some legitimate noise in 2025.

We thought it would be Russell Wilson. I’ll never forget what it was like when the trade was announced and everybody believed it could be a Peyton Manning 2.0 scenario. Henry Chisholm, Ryan Greene and myself were all out in Las Vegas covering college hoops tourneys and within an hour the NFL shop in Caesar’s Palace already had No. 3 jerseys in orange for sale.

The biggest benefit of the Russ debacle, though, is that it resulted in the Broncos successfully drafting a franchise quarterback — something the organization had never really done. I was as into the Tebow era as anyone but when that’s the high water mark for QB’s drafted by Denver, it’s pretty eye-opening.

The Broncos competed last year in spite of all of constraints caused by moving on from Wilson. I’m pretty stoked to see what Bo Nix and Co. are able to do moving forward with a much deeper team around him.

Colorado is a more vibrant place when the Broncos are good. It creates an energy that’s intoxicating and creates an even deeper sense of community. It feels good to feel that pre-season excitement we all took for granted during the good times.

The Broncos begin training camp this week. Follow the DNVR Broncos crew for daily coverage, the latest insights & everything you need to know.

The Rockies blew their chance to sweep the Twins. They did win their first home series of the year though. Better late than never I suppose. 🎊

More important than the series itself, Ryan McMahon homered twice over the weekend. Did he just increase his trade value this summer?